If he gets his way, Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, also known as “Joe the Plumber,” plans to enjoy a lot more than just 15 minutes of fame. Two weeks after emerging as the Republican Party’s favorite proxy for the American working man, Mr. Wurzelbacher has signed a management deal meant to keep him in the public eye past next week’s election and earn him some money at the same time, preferably as a show business personality.

“Joe the Plumber is fast becoming a brand,” said Jim Della Croce, president of the Nashville-based Pathfinder Management group, who is part of the trio that will be representing Mr. Wurzelbacher from now on. “He is a dynamic speaker and an everyman who has become an overnight celebrity. It’s going to be our job to find Joe’s strengths and give him some options.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Wurzelbacher, 34, was the surprise guest at a rally that Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for vice-president, held in Bowling Green, Ohio, just south of Mr. Wurzelbacher’s home town of Toledo. Since the Oct. 15 presidential debate that made him a national figure, Ms. Palin has referred to him in nearly every speech, and on Wednesday she interrupted remarks on tax policy to introduce him to a crowd that began enthusiastically to chant his name.

“He’s a fellow Alaskan, and he’s a fellow military man who served our country proudly,” Ms. Palin said. “I’d like you to meet him! Please welcome Joe the Plumber!”

Mr. Wurzelbacher, dressed in a checked shirt and jeans, made no comments during the rally, and simply stood, with his hands clasped, at Ms. Palin’s side. But Mr. Della Croce said he can easily envision Mr. Wurzelbacher giving inspirational speeches, appearing on television, profiting from licensed merchandise that uses his name or image and endorsing products.

“It wouldn’t be far afield to have Joe be the spokesperson for Home Depot, for example, representing the shoulder-to-the-wheel working stiff,” he said. “He really isn’t selling out in any way, shape or form. We just want to see where he can have a positive impact.”

Mr. Della Croce is an entertainment industry veteran who has worked as a musician, publicist and television producer. Over the years he has also managed rock and pop performers like Grand Funk Railroad, The Power Station and Leon Redbone.

In recent years he has primarily represented country music artists like The Gatlin Brothers, Aaron Tippin and John Anderson. Another client is Jesse Winchester, the Louisiana-born country-rock singer-songwriter who fled to Canada 40 years ago to protest the war in Vietnam, became a Canadian citizen and was for many years unable to perform in the United States.

“It’s a bit of an odd partnership,” Mr. Della Croce conceded Wednesday when he was asked about the contrast between the politics of Mr. Winchester and Mr. Wurzelbacher. “I enjoy the different points of view, and I’m really privileged to get all these different perspectives. Politically we are all over the map, but we are of a like mind as to artist management.”

It turns out that it was actually Mr. Tippin who urged Mr. Wurzelbacher to get a manager. The two men met at Mike Huckabee’s program on Fox News, where both were guests the Sunday after the presidential debate in which Mr. McCain made “Joe the Plumber” the centerpiece of his attack on Mr. Obama’s tax policy.

Mr. Tippin has traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan to perform for American troops there, and more recently has been accompanying Mr. McCain on the campaign trail, singing songs like “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly” and “Kiss This” to open the Republican’s rallies. But he also describes himself as a big “Joe the Plumber” fan.

“I think Joe is the voice of middle America,” Mr. Tippin said. “He’s not some made-up deal. He sees things from a common man’s point of view and is trying to do something good for this country, and that impresses me.”

Mr. Della Croce said he was even thinking of having Mr. Wurzelbacher record some music, perhaps a song or two of Mr. Tippin’s. “Joe is a hard-core country music fan, and he can carry a tune,” he said. “We’re not calling him anything, though, until we get him into a studio.”

But there are no plans, at least right now, Mr. Della Croce said, for “Joe the Plumber” to run for public office. “He had made comments in the past, but he has nothing solidified,” Mr. Della Croce said. “When I talked with him today, he said ‘I never say never,’ but all this is very new to him.”

McCain’s ad out today, with the word “YET” at the end of the argument that Obama is not ready to be president demonstrates unequivocally that all of this terrorist, socialist, guilt-by-association nonsense the McPalin campaign is peddling is bogus even to them. Because if they meant a word of it, they’d never put the word “yet” after that claim. You wouldn’t be any less worried about him in 4 years than you are now if you meant it.

This has now gotten to the point of total absurdity. The guy is a colossal joke. There is NOTHING about him that is accurate or genuine. Almost everything about him has been exposed as a fraud. Doesn’t the news media, such as the NYT, have some obligation to report the truth about this loser? Or will the media merely regurgitate his talking points and his spin in an effort to achieve some vague sense of “objectivity.” If this guy from Ohio (Sam the fake plumber?) is your typical McCain supporter, then McCain is in bigger trouble than even I thought.

Looks like the last laugh might be on those who ridiculed and derided good old Joe. If this pans out for him it would be great. After all, he’s no less deserving than lots of others who parlay their fifteen minutes of fame into big bucks.

/But there are no plans, at least right now, Mr. Della Croce said, for “Joe the Plumber” to run for public office. “He had made comments in the past, but he has nothing solidified,” Mr. Della Croce said. “When I talked with him today, he said ‘I never say never,’ but all this is very new to him.”/

I can’t believe so many gullible people are buying Joe the Fraud’s act. The guy isn’t anything he says he is. Also, campaign finance records show that he gave McCain’s campaign $1,000 prior to meeting Obama “by chance.” The guy was a plant. A total fraud. But so many clueless people in this country buy into this garbage. It’s sickening.

President Obama drew criticism on Thursday when he said, “we don’t have a strategy yet,” for military action against ISIS in Syria. Lawmakers will weigh in on Mr. Obama’s comments on the Sunday shows.Read more…